


The Only Exception

by masterof0ne



Category: Brooklyn Nine-Nine (TV)
Genre: Daddy Issues, First Dance, Peraltiago, Post-Wedding, Wedding Fluff, toasts
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-09
Updated: 2020-06-09
Packaged: 2021-03-04 03:08:20
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,841
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24616555
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/masterof0ne/pseuds/masterof0ne
Summary: Just a little post-wedding fluff. Wedding toasts and first dance!
Relationships: Jake Peralta & Amy Santiago, Jake Peralta/Amy Santiago
Comments: 9
Kudos: 39





	The Only Exception

Six months of planning, making reservations, dropping off deposits, making seating arrangements, picking out flowers, and so much more, just to have their reception held at Shaw’s Bar. 

And maybe it was the beautiful ceremony Charles had pulled together in 30 minutes, or the way Jake looked in his tux staring at her like she was the only woman in the world, but Amy wouldn’t have wanted it any other way. This, much like the catastrophic start to the day and the ceremony that ended up more perfect than they could have ever planned, was so supremely _them_ that Amy couldn’t find it in herself to upset at anything that had happened that day. 

She sat on a familiar bar stool, Jake’s arm wrapped tightly around her waist and listened to the speeches being made in their honor. Her seven brothers gave a remarkably well-rehearsed speech to a slideshow of embarrassing baby pictures (and she didn’t even mind when Jake snorted beer up his nose at the one of her naked in a mud puddle). 

“Amy, we love you, and we’re happy you found someone who is even better at teasing you than we are. Cheers, to Jake and Amy!” Mateo finished for the brothers, and Amy’s eyes were dripping as she toasted her champagne glass back to her brothers.

Her maid of honor, Kylie, was up next. For some reason, she had elected to forego a traditional speech, instead choosing to recite an Italian love poem she swore reminded her of Jake and Amy’s sometimes tumultuous but eventually beautiful relationship. 

Touched as she was at the gesture, Amy didn’t speak any Italian and she knew Jake’s Italian knowledge consisted solely of pronouncing Sal’s Pizza menu in the worst Super Mario impression she had ever heard. 

Come to think of it, she was fairly certain _Kylie_ didn’t even know Italian.

**_Cercavo te nelle stelle_ **

**_Quando le interrogavo bambino._ **

**_Ho chiesto di te alle montagne,_ **

**_Ma non mi diedero che poche volte_ **

**_Solitudine e breve pace._ **

**_Perché mancavi, nelle lunghe sere_ **

**_Meditai la bestemmia insensata_ **

**_Che il mondo era uno sbaglio di Dio,_ **

**_Io uno sbaglio nel mondo._ **

Jake leaned over and whispered in her ear “Blink twice if you have no idea what she’s saying.”

Amy bit her lip to keep from giggling and instead planted a sweet kiss on his lips. She pulled back and mouthed _I love you._

**_E quando, davanti alla morte,_ **

**_Ho gridato di no da ogni fibra,_ **

**_Che non avevo ancora finito,_ **

**_Che troppo ancora dovevo fare,_ **

**_Era perché mi stavi davanti,_ **

**_Tu con me accanto, come oggi avviene,_ **

**_Un uomo una donna sotto il sole._ **

**_Sono tornato perché c'eri tu._ **

When Kylie had finished her poem, she also toasted to Jake and Amy.

Charles Boyle was next to speak. He was crying before he even took the microphone and Amy heard Jake stifle a mini groan. 

“How many pages does he have in his hands?” He whispered to Amy, eyes wide.

“At least eight,” she giggled back. “Do you think it’s single-spaced?”

“Double-sided,” Jake replied with a grin.

“Santiago style,” they chorused. 

Jake stood up to address the room before Boyle could get going. “Charles, I love you buddy, but I just want everyone to know I am not responsible for anything he’s about to say. Keep the comments about my butt to a minimum, Boyle, please.”

Their guests laughed, but Charles looked offended. “That is a crime and you know it Jake. I wish we talked about your butt more often.”

Jake turned a very interesting shade of red as the room laughed again, a few whoops coming from the corner Amy knew her brothers were sitting in. 

Surprisingly, Charles’ speech did not reference Jake’s butt (too often…it was _Charles_ after all). 

It was full of sweet little anecdotes of someone who had observed them go from strangers to partners to friends to two people madly in love. 

_“I had known Jake for a few years before Amy transferred to the Nine Nine. He has always been a smiley person, so full of joy and a walking, talking ray of sunshine. But that day I swear to God he was literally glowing with happiness. I made a comment about hearing wedding bells and they made fun of me for it later, but who’s laughing now, guys?”_

_“The bets and the competitions were the best. Once upon a time, Amy swore the worst thing in the world for her would be to have to go out with him. Even though she never would’ve admitted it, and still probably wouldn’t, there was a part of her that was happy she lost their infamous bet. And I would put all my money on a bet that Jake never told Amy he let her win the Jimmy Jabs all those years ago. They were always each other’s biggest competition, but it has been incredible to see them finally on the same team.”_

_“I watched them fall in love right here in this bar. After tough cases, after big wins, or even just a random Friday night. They didn’t realize it for a long time, and even when they figured it out they waited a long time because they weren’t sure. And as much stress as it was for me to sit there and watch them be idiots about each other, even I’ll admit it was well worth the wait.”_

Amy was openly crying by the end of Boyle’s speech, and she saw Jake not-so-discreetly brush away his own tears. She and Jake loved to tease Boyle for his over-the-top investment in their relationship, but neither of them realized how much he had seen, how much he had noticed. It was beautiful. 

“Jake, Amy,” Boyle concluded, raising his glass to them. “I love you both. You’ve kept us all waiting long enough, it’s time to procreate.”

Jake groaned, “There it is.” But he stood up to hug his best friend and best man. 

After Boyle, Rosa took the microphone and gave the shortest wedding toast Amy had ever heard. “Jake and Amy, you are two of the most annoying people I’ve ever met. I’m happy you made it here.” 

The happy couple smiled, knowing that was as close to an I Love You as they were ever going to get. 

Finally, Jake reclaimed the microphone. 

He smiled at her, “Amy, my beautiful wife, my best friend, and my incredible partner in every sense of the word. I was going to say something cheesy like ‘Today, you made me the happiest man in the world’, but honestly that would be a lie. 

“You have made me the happiest man in the world since that god-awful trip upstate a few years ago. For those of you who don’t know, Amy and I were sent upstate to assist with a prison-transfer. We weren’t dating at the time, but I invited my then-girlfriend and Amy’s then-boyfriend without realizing she was about to break up with him. Despite my best efforts to fix it, everything inevitably came spilling out. In one fell swoop I managed to piss off my girlfriend, break Amy and Teddy up, and stay in the creepiest hotel room I’ve ever seen in my life. Seriously, I still have nightmares about all the dolls and puppets.

“But somehow, in all that mess, I found out that you had feelings for me. And even though I had screwed things up with literally everyone involved, I was still the luckiest guy in the world, because I had somehow managed to attract the greatest girl I’ve ever met.

“Ames, I had a rough childhood. I watched my parents’ marriage end right in front of my eyes. It took me a long time to figure out how to love someone, and an even longer time to realize that I was deserving of that love back. 

“You are love personified. You care so much about everyone and everything around you. From day one, I’ve been like a moth attracted to your flame. It is the easiest thing in the world to love you, and having you love me back is the biggest honor. You have shown me so much and you find new ways everyday to make me the happiest man in the world. I love you, Ames, til the freakin' world ends.”

Amy and Charles were both openly weeping, Charles to the point of hysterics. 

“I know when you gave me music privileges for the reception, you thought you’d regret it. And I’m not gonna lie, I really considered making you do the Cha Cha Slide for our first dance. But, I think I found a song that says how I feel a little better. So, Amy Santiago, would you do me the honor of joining me for our first dance?”

He passes the microphone off to their “DJ” (Charles’ cousin manning the iPod connected to the aux cord) and takes her hand as an instrumental version of Paramore’s “The Only Exception” began playing through the bar. 

Pressed against his chest, her feet somehow not stepping on his despite the fact that her eyes and her mind were focused on the brown eyes in front of hers, her _husband_ ’s eyes, Amy had never felt so secure and so, so, loved.

**_When I was younger_ **

**_I saw my daddy cry_ **

**_And curse at the wind_ **

**_He broke his own heart_ **

**_And I watched_ **

**_As he tried to reassemble it_ **

**_And my momma swore_ **

**_That she would never let herself forget_ **

**_And that was the day that I promised_ **

**_I'd never sing of love_ **

**_If it does not exist, but darlin’_ **

**_You are, the only exception_ **

**_You are, the only exception_ **

**_You are, the only exception_ **

**_You are, the only exception_ **

**_Maybe I know, somewhere_ **

**_Deep in my soul_ **

**_That love never lasts_ **

**_And we've got to find other ways_ **

**_To make it alone_ **

**_But keep a straight face_ **

**_And I've always lived like this_ **

**_Keeping a comfortable, distance_ **

**_And up until now_ **

**_I had sworn to myself that I'm content_ **

**_With loneliness_ **

**_Because none of it was ever worth the risk_ **

**_But, you are, the only exception_ **

**_You are, the only exception_ **

**_You are, the only exception_ **

**_You are, the only exception_ **

**_I've got a tight grip on reality_ **

**_But I can't let go of what's in front of me here_ **

**_I know your leaving in the morning, when you wake up_ **

**_Leave me with some kind of proof it's not a dream, oh_ **

**_You are, the only exception_ **

**_You are, the only exception_ **

**_You are, the only exception_ **

**_You are, the only exception_ **

**_You are, the only exception_ **

**_You are, the only exception_ **

**_You are, the only exception_ **

**_You are, the only exception_ **

**_And I'm on my way to believing_ **

**_Oh, and I'm on my way to believing._ **

They pulled apart to the applause of their family. Jake tipped her chin up and whispered “You are my only exception, Amy Santiago,” before pressing his lips firmly to hers. 

He was hers as well. 

**Author's Note:**

> This was my first ever fanfiction, just a little something that rattled around my brain for a week or so. The poem is 11 February 1946 by Primo Levi. 
> 
> English translation:
> 
> I kept searching for you in the stars  
> When I questioned them as a child.  
> I asked the mountains for you,  
> But they gave me solitude and brief peace  
> Only a few times.
> 
> Because you weren't there, in the long evenings  
> I considered the rash blasphemy  
> That the world was God's error,  
> Myself an error in the world.
> 
> And when I was face to face with death -  
> No, I shouted from every fiber.  
> I hadn't finished yet;  
> There was still too much to do.  
> Because you were there before me,  
> With me beside you just like today,  
> A man a woman under the sun.  
> I came back because you were there.


End file.
